Hobbies

On this Labor Day, since many of us are not working, I wanted to write about what we do in our non-working hours. Thanks to the rabbit hole effects of the internet, I found myself reading a Slate article about hobbies.

It starts out saying that what we do in our spare time makes us interesting, but then it takes a very weird turn: The author believes that after the pressure of college applications is over, no one does extra curriculars (AKA hobbies) any more. She says that in her circle of friends the closest thing to a hobby is binge-watching Netflix. I felt so sad for that group of friends.

I don’t have a single friend who doesn’t have a hobby. Thanks to the article, I created a list (it doesn’t take much to get me to do that!) of friends and acquaintances and how they spend their spare time. What varied interests they were – everything from the arts (painting and playing musical instruments) to various cooking disciplines, hand crafts (broom and jewelry making) to physical endeavors like running and tennis. Some of my friends are collectors, active in volunteer activities, power readers, and supporters of the fine arts.

This exercise made me even more proud of the extended family I have created. It’s always fun getting to know new people at our get-togethers. The conversation has places to go after talking about work and how we know the host(ess). Since people like to talk about things they are passionate about, it can make even the most avid wall flower open up. I’ve yet to have someone tell me they don’t have any interests outside work.

Is my group of friends unusual, or do most people have hobbies? or Does anyone have good ice breaking questions they use at parties?